District Court Officer Baumeister retires

Plans for the futureBaumeister plans to take time to visit his son and three grandchildren at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

» Read more

X

Plans for the future

Baumeister plans to take time to visit his son and three grandchildren at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

dwreid@aol.com

COLDWATER — After 13 years and six months, Andy Baumeister retired Wednesday as Bailiff/Court Officer in the Branch County District Court.

With friends, attorneys and other courthouse personnel there to wish him a happy retirement, Branch County Magistrate-Judge David Coyle called him "the eternal Eagle Scout," always ready to continue his life of service. That includes serving as Union City village councilman.

Judge Coyle noted Bill Ward — who also held the job for 14 years — in the audience and said the two were the best ever to hold the job.

Coldwater City Prosecutor Megan Angel called Andy a positive person who treated everyone, including defendants and their families, fairly and with respect.

Branch County District Court Judge Brent Weigle, who was an assistant prosecutor when Baumeister was a state trooper when he started, praised him for his loyalty, and his underrated intelligence.

Judge Weigle added that Baumeister had a lot of responsibility and kept the court operating smoothly.

Baumeister was a Michigan State Police trooper from 1973 to 1992. He then left to take a police job in coastal Carolina, but returned to Michigan in 1996 after two hurricanes in one summer there.

Hired as a court transport officer in October of 1996, he became bailiff in April of 1999 with the retirement of Chet Keaton.